Advisors Asset Management Inc. Acquires 1,819 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 94.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,736 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,819 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 2.0% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 6,129 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,021,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 1,089 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at $1,599,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 90.4% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,195,000 after acquiring an additional 9,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 476 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Up 2.6 %

Murphy USA stock opened at $545.34 on Monday. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $350.55 and a fifty-two week high of $552.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $497.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $487.30. The stock has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.50 and a beta of 0.75.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 62.73% and a net margin of 2.48%. The company’s revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.69 EPS. Research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 7.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy USA news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The trade was a 11.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 9.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $495.33.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA Inc engages in marketing of retail motor fuel products and convenience merchandise. The company operates retail stores under the Murphy USA, Murphy Express, and QuickChek brands, as well as operates non-fuel convenience stores. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States.